A Game of Love
by Aurora Antheia Raine
Summary: "Dearest Sesshoumaru, you may not know about me, but I certainly know about you..." And with a single letter, mysteriously left on his door one evening, two lives were changed forever. -For R0o's 'Love Letters to...' Challenge on Dokuga- SessKag
1. Dearest Sesshoumaru

**A Game of Love**

_Chapter One: Dearest Sesshoumaru_

An elegantly clawed hand gracefully moved to loosen a navy blue tie as a weary sigh was released. The plush leather seat of a silver luxury sedan crinkled noisily beneath the sudden added weight as the sound echoed off the walls of the lonesome parking garage. The hand stilled for a moment's hesitation before fingers tensed into a tight fist and the tie was violently wrenched off to be discarded in fluttering abandon onto the passenger seat.

Slowly, the once taut, rigid form relaxed in stance as another sigh escaped through thin, parted lips. Golden eyes slid shut for a brief pause only to flicker open as the sound of an engine roaring to life met his pointed ears with a simple twist of his wrist.

He backed out of his parking space carefully and proceeded to drive home while clearing his head of all business related thoughts. It was tiring enough as it was to work such long hours drowning amongst piles and piles of paperwork and company issues, but he was drawing the line at thinking about said paperwork and issues off the clock, even if he is the CEO of the energy conservation company, Hashi Energies.

Almost mechanically, Sesshoumaru pulled into his driveway, retrieved his mail, and strolled to the front door, keys jingling in his hand. For the past five years, his nightly routine had gotten so repetitive, he no longer had to focus on what he was doing in order to do it.

With blank eyes, he swiftly unlocked the door and as his hand moved to turn the knob, his knuckles brushed against something foreign lodged between the crack of his door and the doorframe. Retracting his hand in surprise, he glanced down and looked at the offending item with a single raised brow.

It was an envelope so white, it practically glowed beneath the light upon his porch. Written in what could only be by a feminine hand was his name and nothing else. Stepping inside, he kicked the door closed with his foot, never looking away from the puzzle he held as he turned the lights in the foyer on. Tucking his mail under his arm, he swiped at the seal, almost impatiently, with one claw and pulled out a single sheet of lined paper.

_Dearest Sesshoumaru,_

_You may not know about me, but I certainly know about you. In fact, I know everything there is to know about you. Rest assured; however, that I am not some crazed stalker. I am simply a girl; a human girl whose heart was stolen by you. _

_I am not so delusional as to believe that I could ever have a chance to be with you, but every time I think of your sun kissed eyes, I imagine that they are filled with warmth for me and the pain that lingers from within them have completely vanished. When I think of your haughty smirk, I imagine that your lips will one day curve into a genuine smile for me and that smirk I have come to love so much will still be present, but in the presence of the rivals you prevail. When I think of your inner turmoil regarding the dreams you have given up, I hope that there will be a day in which you could share your burdens with me so you will never be alone. I would wish that I could replace those unspeakable pains within your heart with love and joy._

His eyes widened in bewilderment as his fingers subconsciously tightened its hold upon the letter, irreversibly crinkling it at the edges. How could this unknown woman know so much about him? Who is she?

Quickly, he lifted the paper to his nose and inhaled deeply, hoping to catch the scent of the writer. The corner of his lips pulled downwards in disappointment when he could detect no scent emanating from the material. Feeling slightly dejected, his gaze scanned the contents carefully until he found his place and continued reading.

_Are you surprised at my knowledge yet, dearest Sesshoumaru? _

_I can imagine it already. You must still be standing in your foyer; the unexpected letter disrupting your routine had roused a deep curiosity from within you. You tore open the seal with a single swipe of your clawed finger and quickly scanned its contents._

_And when you realized what I knew of you, your insatiable need to find out who I am will lead to you attempting to seek out my scent; however, you will not find me, as I am sure you have realized by now._

_While this is a confession of my love for you, it is also a goodbye. I am a selfish woman. I could not bear to part from you, to finally and fully enforce myself to forget you, without you being aware of me, your secret admirer for many years. _

_You have occupied my thoughts frequently and now, I only wish that I could be within your thoughts for a brief moment in time. With this knowledge in my heart, I can contently attempt to move on from pinning after someone so unreachable. _

_We are from two different worlds, after all. A Daiyoukai like you could never love a mortal like me. Could you?_

_Yours,_

_G_

Sesshoumaru stood completely still for a few heartbeats to absorb the letter in its entirety. When the meaning behind it sunk in, he inhaled sharply. It was, of all things, a love letter - something he had not received for many years, courtesy of his current career choice. Not that he minded being left alone by those female sharks. The love letters of the past consisted of idiotic ramblings like, _"OH MY GOD, I LOVE YOU!" _or _"I WANT YOUR CHILDREN!"_ and even, _"FUCK ME SILLY, PLEASE!" _instead of well thought out sentences.

Still, he knew he should feel perturbed. It was obvious that this woman, whoever she was, knew a lot, way too much, about him, even those he kept secret. She even knew his daily routine coming home from work. Yet, despite that, he didn't feel himself becoming wary of her. In fact, he was curious. From the tone of her letter, she did not appear to be psychotic, just a whimsical woman attempting to leave a lasting impression on him.

Well, her plan succeeded.

He was now very aware of her, but who, exactly, is 'her' and how could he find her? Absorbed within his thoughts of the mysterious Miss G, Sesshoumaru walked into the kitchen and absentmindedly tossed his keys onto the counter.

Gently setting the paper aside, he began to boil some water for tea, still preoccupied on finding ways to reach her. When the tea kettle whistled, he grabbed the handle and poured the boiling water over his tea leaves. Suddenly, everything clicked and his hand went still.

If she knew of his schedule, then that must mean she's paid enough attention to him at his home to the point of having it memorized. He left and arrived home at approximately the same time each day with only the traffic to take into account. Which meant, it would be a very likely scenario for her to come by while he was away to check if her mail had been successfully delivered to him.

He had an important meeting tomorrow so he could not take a sudden day off from the company. He could; however, leave her a response upon his door in plain view for her to see.

Yes, that's what he would do.

Setting the tea kettle aside, he pulled out a blank piece of paper and an ink pen. In his elegant handwriting, he quickly wrote down one sentence on the center of the paper.

_Will you reveal yourself to me?_

Folding it twice, he put it into an identical envelope, sealed it, and in a similar fashion, wrote _Miss G_ on the front.

Smirking to himself, he poured out the tea he no longer wanted, turned out the light, and went to bed, eagerly awaiting for the next morning.

* * *

**Author's Note: **This will be short, probably around four chapters or so. It's a response to R0o's "Love Letters to..." Challenge posted on Dokuga. For those who read my other stories, please be patient with me after my long (six months?) hiatus. My grandmother is slowly declining in health everyday and I find myself unable to find the urge to write while I think of her. This is really an attempt for me to get back into the hang of things so we'll see how things go, yes?


	2. A Game of Basketball

A Game of Love

_Chapter Two: A Game of Basketball_

He hadn't been able to concentrate all day. Thoughts of whether or not she would see the note he left for her kept plaguing his mind. If he were asked, he couldn't even repeat what had been discussed at the meeting he had attended.

Tapping his pen against his desk, Sesshoumaru absentmindedly stared at the clock upon the wall, mentally urging it to move faster. This was the first time since he had taken over his father's company where he had done absolutely nothing for the entire day. He might as well just go home now, but he was stubbornly refusing on changing his routine for the sake of a woman he had never met before.

With determination, he sat in his chair and listened to the hands on the clock slowly ticking away. Time literally crawled for the next two hours and finally, it was time for him to leave. He stood so quickly, his chair toppled backwards but he disregarded it by simply grabbing his jacket and rushing out of his office.

He drove like a maniac on Speed, weaving in and out of traffic until he pulled to an abrupt stop on his driveway. Quickly grabbing his mail, he strode to his door and a smirk threatened to erupt on his face when nothing met his gaze. His letter was missing, which meant she had stopped by and taken it. He even double checked to make sure it hadn't fallen to the ground.

Now, he would just have to wait for her response though he was slightly disappointed that she hadn't responded right away. Secretly, he hoped that there would be a letter waiting for him when he got home tomorrow.

Unfortunately, when tomorrow evening rolled around, there was no letter.

Nor was there a letter waiting for him the next night or the night after that.

And so, for one whole week, Sesshoumaru waited in vain for the response that never came and with each day that came and went, his frustrations grew. The identity of the woman was all he could think about and the soft, honest words upon that page were all he could see. The first genuine affection he had ever felt coming from a woman and it was as though she had dropped off the face of the planet.

He became intolerable to work with; his demands were unreasonable and his temper unmanageable. His employees ran in the opposite direction when they saw him and there were times where he would scare even himself with the ferocity of his tempers whenever he thought of the woman.

Sesshoumaru could no longer sleep at night for even then, her words haunted him. He mentally cursed the woman for getting under his skin, taunting him until he thought he would lose his sanity. He knew things were bad when even his thickheaded half-brother, Inuyasha, noticed his short, more violent than usual, temper and that's when the gateway to Sesshoumaru's personal Hell officially burst open.

Because that's how Sesshoumaru found himself sitting at a table in the local bar that night with Inuyasha and his gang, bored and irritated. He held a bottle of beer with three fingers as he stared straight ahead of him, glaring intensely at the soon-to-be-dead Inuyasha.

After all, it had been his idea for the get-together. The main reason was so he could introduce his girlfriend, Kikyo, to the gang. It was also a good opportunity for Sango and Miroku, two of his friends, to relax and unwind from work together. Since they were dating, that left his best friend, Kagome, as the third wheel - or fifth wheel.

And that's where Sesshoumaru came in. Inuyasha had begged and pleaded for him to make an appearance and keep Kagome company so she wouldn't feel left out.

Many times he had questioned why Inuyasha had to ask him of all people and he had merely said it was to remove that stick that now seemed to be permanently stuck up his ass. Also because Sesshoumaru had promised to make it up to him when he had missed Inuyasha's graduation ceremony all those years ago. It was a fact that Inuyasha had made sure to never forget.

Well, Sesshoumaru had came as reluctantly agreed but he had proceeded to ignore his "date" for the entire evening, choosing, instead, to sulk into his beer bottle while he thought of his mysterious letter writer, Miss G, again.

And his date, Kagome, was getting more ticked by the second. There was no possible way a bottle of alcohol could be more appealing than her - unless Sesshoumaru was gay. But he wasn't, at least, that's what Kagome kept telling herself.

She had asked Inuyasha once before a few years back but all he said was that he had never seen Sesshoumaru date - ever. It was such a shame too, since Sesshoumaru had to be the sexiest man she had ever seen in her life. His personality and attitude, though, was another story - especially right now. Kagome would just have to change that though and she had just the plan to do it.

Slowly, she slid off the stool she had been sitting on and pierced Sesshoumaru with an intense stare, ignoring the way she had to tilt her head up to look at him even while he was seated and she was standing. She saw him glancing at her before proceeding to ignore her again, but she wouldn't relent.

"What?" Sesshoumaru finally snapped between gritted teeth.

"I'm challenging you to a game of basketball," Kagome declared boldly, "right now."

He scoffed in disbelief as he released his hold on the bottle. "Don't you know who I am, wench?"

"Of course I do," Kagome replied sweetly, purposefully exaggerating her tone to irritate him. "That's why it'll be fun to defeat you."

"Preposterous," Sesshoumaru growled, standing to tower over her.

When he had been a teenager, fresh out of high school, he had gone to college in America on a basketball scholarship. His sporting career; however, had been cut short by his father's sudden death. As a result, he had given up his dream to take over and care for his father's beloved company in Japan. He did not regret his decision since he knew it had been his father's wishes, but he did miss the feel of the ball in his hand and the swoosh of the ball falling into the hoop. He missed the thrill of competition and the rush of adrenaline traveling through his veins.

After he had taken over the company, he hadn't allowed himself to play basketball. He knew that once he held a ball between his hands, he'd never want to let go. Now, this girl was threatening to undo all that he had done over the past few years. He wanted to throttle her for issuing the challenge, but sadly his honor prevented him from ever laying a hand on a woman - even a woman as irritating as her.

"Well, let's just play a game to see if I'm really as preposterous as you believe I am," Kagome taunted, her eyes sparkling with mirth.

Gulping down the last of his beer, Sesshoumaru walked over to where the two basketball machines were located in the corner, amongst all the other arcade machines jam packed in there.

He inserted the appropriate amount of coins into both machines and the balls came rolling forward.

"Let's spice things up a bit," Kagome suggested as she reached for a ball. "If I win, you'll agree to have dinner with me tomorrow night. If you win, I'll leave you alone."

Sesshoumaru paused in his hesitancy to pick up a ball to take her offer into consideration. He quickly weighed the pros and cons of her bet, secretly relishing in the feel of the rubber ball against the pads of his fingers. Defeating this little slip of a woman was going to be too easy. He'd finally be able to go home and get away from her if he agreed to the terms. The woman was too arrogant to believe she could win against him. He felt the irresistible pull of a smirk as he sealed the deal with a simple nod of his head.

The whistle went off and the pair sprung into action, shooting the balls into the hoop as quickly as possible. Kagome was fueled by the determination to win and Sesshoumaru by the urge to be rid of the girl's presence. When, not if, he won, he would no longer have to deal with keeping her company. Instead, he could go home and brood some more about the disappearance of Miss G. How much lovelier that is than spending it with this irritating woman intent on thinking she could defeat him in basketball.

The final whistle blew, signaling the end of the game, and both immediately paused mid-movement. After a moment's hesitation, Sesshoumaru sent the last ball sailing into the basket, missing the sensations that this game had brought on already. Still, he had a façade to maintain and he would never allow anyone to see just how much he had enjoyed that brief ninety seconds of pure bliss.

Without looking at the score, he turned to stare at her smugly before leaving. He had only taken a few steps when Kagome's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow night," Kagome said, a wide grin upon her face, "The café around the corner at seven."

Eyes wide in disbelief, Sesshoumaru whirled around to look at the scoreboard. He blinked several times in denial, but the numbers refused to change.

65 to 67

He had lost by a measly two points.

Well, damn it all to hell.


	3. A Man of Honor

A Game of Love

_Chapter Three: A Man of Honor_

"Let's get this over with," Sesshoumaru muttered to himself as he sat down across from Kagome at precisely seven o'clock the next night. The café hadn't been a bad choice for a casual meeting, but Sesshoumaru would be lying if he said he wasn't still feeling sore about having lost the basketball game.

And really, what did she think was going to come out of this dinner she had practically forced upon him? She simply wasn't his type. But… was she even interested in him or was she just hell bent on making his life a living hell for another day? Regardless, she was not the type of woman he would ever be interested in.

The mysterious Miss G, on the other hand, held all of his interest. Yet, he still hadn't heard from her. How long had it been now? More than a week, Sesshoumaru confirmed as he did a quick calculation in his head.

As much as he wanted to; however, he couldn't be thinking about her at the moment. As much as he disliked the thought of having to spend more time with his half-brother's best friend, he was still an honorable man and he had, surprisingly, lost the bet, which meant he had an obligation to fulfill. As a man of honor, he would follow through with this dinner, even if it bored him to the brink of insanity.

He turned his attention to the woman that was quietly surveying the café's small menu and suppressed a deep sigh.

"I can tell you don't really want to be here," Kagome said suddenly, never taking her eyes off the menu, "if you want, you're free to leave."

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her skeptically. "What are the consequences?"

"Does everything you do have to come with a consequence?" Kagome asked, lifting her head up to meet his hard gaze, eyebrow raised in question. "I'm giving you a free ticket out of here. Do you want it or not?"

"Why?"

"I'd rather eat alone than with a sulking man who won't even make an attempt at having a conversation," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Do you make it a habit of attempting to scare away all your dates with your overconfidence?" Sesshoumaru asked, his lips revealing the smallest hint of an impressed smirk.

"Who said this was a date?" Kagome fired back, relaxing in her seat with a small smile.

A moment of silence ensued as Sesshoumaru quickly recalled her words from the night before. _"If I win, you'll agree to have dinner with me tomorrow night."_

"Touché," Sesshoumaru finally said with a nod of defeat before picking up the menu. "Have you decided on what you're having?"

"Yes, I'm going to have the tuna specialty bento, iced green tea latte, and a slice of their strawberry shortcake," Kagome replied distractedly, her eyes still scanning the menu as she practically drooled over the delicious pictures of an assortment of beautiful pastries, coffee beverages, and bento boxes. "How about you?"

When Sesshoumaru failed to respond, she looked up from her sheet of paper with a scowl, prepared to go off on a rampage about how rude he was being when she noticed the dumbfounded expression on his face.

"What?"

"You… are going to eat all of that?" Sesshoumaru asked, so awed by her appetite that he had almost stuttered his words.

"Is there a problem?" Kagome questioned, "I'm not asking you to foot the bill, you know."

"What about a salad?"

"What are you insinuating here, Sesshoumaru?" Kagome snapped, glowering at him. "Are you calling me fat?"

"Not at all," Sesshoumaru responded quickly. "Most, if not all, of the women I have met eat nothing but salads."

"I don't know what kind of overly self-conscious women you've been hanging around, but I'm not like them. I do enjoy the occasional salad, but I'd go crazy if that was all I ate," Kagome explained with a quick shake of her head. "Now, go and put our order in."

Still a bit shocked, Sesshoumaru wordlessly and obediently strolled to the register counter and put their order in before returning with a number.

When their food arrived, he thought there was no way Kagome could finish everything she had ordered. To his dismay, she had actually eaten every last bite and was currently in the process of licking her fork clean.

In between their eating and their comfortable silence, the minimal amount of conversation they had were light and engaging. Kagome shared past stories and jokes and revealed a little bit about herself on a more personal level while Sesshoumaru mostly nodded, only commenting and responding when the opportunity presented itself.

And from the past three hours alone, Sesshoumaru quickly came to realize three very important things:

1. Kagome was not your typical women. She was in a division of women all by herself. She was eccentric and self confident to the point where she could be just a bit scary and intimidating - not that Sesshoumaru was at all intimidated by her. Just shocked, mostly, that a women like her actually existed in the world.

2. Kagome was real. Her laughs, her shining eyes as she told a humorous story, and her genuine love for life was apparent. There was no acting involved whatsoever and everything she does is with the best intentions in mind.

And the most startling revelation of all;

3. Sesshoumaru did not want the night to end. He found himself enjoying the time he was spending with her, more than he ever thought possible. He didn't know what was going on, but somehow, Kagome had managed to get under his skin.

"Well, I am stuffed," Kagome exclaimed as she finally set down her silverware.

The only response Sesshoumaru gave was to cover an indignant snort of disbelief.

"Let's go get some ice cream," she suggested suddenly and Sesshoumaru nearly fell out of his chair.

"Excuse me?"

"Just kidding," Kagome said with a loud laugh. "I just wanted to see your reaction."

"Hn."

"Well, let me go pay and then we can go," she continued as she grabbed her purse and began walking to the counter.

"The bill has already been paid," Sesshoumaru told her smugly before walking out of the cafe.

"I wasn't expecting you to pay," Kagome exclaimed as she rushed out after him. She pulled on his sleeve from behind and he stopped to turn and face her, eyes flashing from the reflection of the street lights.

"I was aware of that."

"Well… thank you then." Kagome said sincerely. "I had a good time with you. Good night, Sesshoumaru."

Silently, he watched her make her way to her car before driving off with a wave of her hand as she passed him. Only then, did he quietly respond, "Good night… Kagome."

With a sigh, he slowly drove home, his thoughts occupied by the many surprises he had faced at dinner with Kagome. He exited his vehicle after pulling to a stop in his driveway and fumbled with his keys to find the right one while walking up the porch.

When he looked up, his breath caught in his throat. There was a letter jammed in between the door and its frame. A very familiar looking letter. A response letter from Miss G. _Finally._

Ripping the envelope open in one movement once he stepped into his home, Sesshoumaru quickly pulled out the letter within.

_Dearest Sesshoumaru,_

_What would be the point of revealing myself to you? Would it change anything? Have I struck your fancy with my letter? _

_Things are much more complicated than that, I fear. I apologize, love, but I can not reveal my identity to you. It would change too much and I am not prepared for those changes. It had never been my intention for you to know who I am, only for you to know that I exist. That had been enough for me. _

_Do not ask for more, Sesshoumaru, because I will turn into a greedy woman. I will want more and more of you and I know that will never happen. You could never love someone like me._

_Yours,_

_G_

Frustration coursed through Sesshoumaru's body as he crumpled the envelope into a ball with his clenched fist. Why was she so stubborn? Why wouldn't she just reveal herself to him?

Quickly, he wrote his response on a piece of paper he had roughly pulled out of his drawer.

_You claim we do not suit each other and thus, you refuse to reveal yourself to me. What if you are wrong? Tell me, Miss G, are you a salad or bento box type of woman? Your answer will determine our compatibility._

Her response came the next day.

_Dearest Sesshoumaru,_

_Does my answer truly matter? No matter which I choose, you will tell me that we are compatible because your desire to know my identity will drive you to do whatever you can to convince me to reveal myself. You can't fool me that easily._

_Yours,_

_G_

Running his claws through his silver tresses in frustration, Sesshoumaru penned his reply.

_Since you saw through my plan, then let's make things simple. Reveal yourself. I want to know who you are._

Her next letter was simple and one-worded.

_No._

Sesshoumaru sent a vase crashing into the wall as that one word echoed on repeat in his mind. He had never been so frustrated before and this Miss G character was not making it easy for him. He had thought that Kagome had been trying to create hell for him, but in the end, it was this secret admirer that was causing him to lose his mind.

Speaking of Kagome though, he would not deny that he had thought of her often since their dinner, but he had not been in contact with her since. He needed a way to de-stress himself and Kagome had a unique way of calming him with simply her presence. She was enjoyable company and he suddenly had an overwhelming urge to spend time with her.

Picking up his phone, he quickly scrolled through his contacts and pushed the call button. He counted four rings before she answered.

"Hello?"

"Kagome," he stated plainly.

"Sesshoumaru," she responded breezily.

"Would you like to go on a date with me tonight?"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Forgive me. It's been almost six months since my last update. Part of it was because I had been struggling with the dinner scene and the other, larger, part, was family issue related. I sincerely apologize, but I am slowly trying to get back on track. My other stories will be updated ASAP but for now, please enjoy my latest installment and thank you for being patient with me.


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